3.2.5 Placements in Secure Accommodation |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This procedure applies to the placements of Looked After children in secure accommodation on welfare grounds. For placements as a result of criminal proceedings, see Protocol between Children, Young People and Families and the Youth Offending Service.
Please also see YJB Protocol - Court Ordered Secure Remands.
AMENDMENT
This chapter was amended in October 2011 in relation to the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and Associated Guidance. In particular Sections 3.4, Placement Planning and 3.5, Notification of Placement have been amended.
Contents
1. Secure Accommodation Criteria
1.1 Placements on Welfare Grounds
Section 25 of the Children Act 1989 sets out the ‘welfare’ criteria which must be met before a child Looked After by the local authority may be placed in secure accommodation.
The ‘Welfare’ criteria are:
- That the child has a history of absconding (see below) and is likely to abscond from any other description of accommodation; and
- If the child absconds, s/he is likely to suffer Significant Harm, or that;
- If the child is kept in any other description of accommodation s/he is likely to injure her/himself or others.
The use of secure accommodation should be a last resort when there is no appropriate alternative and for the minimum period necessary, following an assessment of likely risk to the child, others and public safety.
A child must never be placed in secure accommodation on welfare grounds in the following circumstances:
- Because no other placement is available at the relevant time;
- Because of inadequacies in staffing in open residential units;
- Because the young person is simply being a nuisance or runs away from his or her accommodation and is not likely to suffer significant harm in doing so;
- As a form of punishment.
It is important when considering the possibility of secure accommodation that there is a clear view as to what is hoped to be achieved by the placement and how this fits into the overall Care Plan.
A child must not continue to have his/her liberty restricted once the criteria cease to apply, even if there is a Court Order currently in existence. The Court order provides authorisation – it is not a direction to the local authority that the placement should continue. The placement must not continue, for example, simply to complete a treatment programme, if the criteria no longer apply.
The Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) can approve such placements for up to 72 hours in an emergency. Only a Court can grant permission for placements beyond 72 hours.
A Looked After child meeting the above criteria may be placed in secure accommodation for a maximum period of 72 hours in any 28-day period, without Court authority (except where the 72 hour period expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday when the period can be extended by to the next working day).
A Court may authorise a child to be kept in secure accommodation for a maximum period of:
- 3 months on the first application to the Court;
- 6 months on subsequent applications to the Court.
A Looked After Child may not be placed in secure accommodation when:
- Under the age of 13, unless the Secretary of State gives prior specific approval. The exception to this is when there is a court order requiring the child to be kept in secure accommodation, when the Secretary of State’s approval is not required;
- Over 16 and has asked to be accommodated;
- Accommodation would be or is being provided on a voluntary basis and a parent objects to a secure placement.
1.2 Placements in Criminal Proceedings
The ‘criminal’ criteria apply in relation to children detained under section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or remanded to local authority accommodation under section 23 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 where:
- They are charged with (or convicted of) an offence imprisonable for 14 years of more if committed by a person aged over 21, or charged with/convicted of a violent or sexual offence; or
- They have a recent history of absconding while remanded to local authority accommodation and are charged with, or has been convicted of, an imprisonable offence that has been alleged to have been committed during a period of remand.
In these circumstances, the criteria are that any other form of accommodation is inappropriate because:
- The child is likely to abscond from such accommodation; or
- The child is likely to injure him/her self or others if kept in any such accommodation.
The Court can authorise a child to be kept in secure accommodation for the same length as the remand, up to a maximum of 28 days.
Where the child is committed for a hearing at the Crown Court, the Court can authorise a child to be kept in secure accommodation for a maximum length of 28 days. If the Crown Court hearing does not take place within the 28-day period, an application to renew the order can be made.
This chapter does not include the procedure in relation to placements in secure accommodation on criminal grounds. For further details of the procedure to be followed in such cases, see Protocol between Children, Young People and Families and the Youth Offending Service.
Please also see YJB Protocol - Court Ordered Secure Remands.
2. Decision to Place in Secure Accommodation on Welfare Grounds
2.1 Consultation
At the point that it is determined that a placement in secure accommodation on welfare grounds may be required, and throughout the subsequent process of identification, planning and placement, the social worker must consult and take account of the views of the following people:
- The child;
- The child’s parents;
- Anyone who is not a parent but has been caring for or looking after the child;
- Other members of the child’s family who are significant to the child;
- The child’s school or education authority;
- The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them.
2.2 Approvals
Any decision to place a child in a secure placement on welfare grounds can only be made after consideration by the Placement Matters Meeting – see Section 3, Placements Process - Planned Placements and with the specific approval of the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) and, if made, must be notified to those consulted and the child’s Independent Visitor. Where the child does not have an Independent Visitor, arrangements must be made for such an appointment as soon as practicable.
To seek the approval of the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation), the child’s social worker must prepare a written report addressing the following areas:
- Name, address, date of birth, ethnicity, school, names of those with Parental Responsibility;
- Grounds/concerns/criteria/aims of proposed secure placement;
- Evidence that the criteria are met;
- What alternatives have been tried/considered and the outcomes;
- The view of the child and the parents;
- The comments of the team manager.
The Placement Matters Meeting and the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) will only approve a request to place a child in secure accommodation where:
- The Criteria for Secure Placements (as set out above) are met;
- Secure accommodation is the only appropriate method of dealing with the child;
- Alternatives have been comprehensively considered and rejected;
- There is a clear view of the aims and objectives of such a placement.
Where the Placement Matters Meeting and the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) agree that a secure placement on welfare grounds is appropriate, the social worker must contact Legal Services as a matter of urgency regarding the application for a Secure Accommodation Order.
In relation to a child under 13, the approval of the Secretary of State will also be required and, after the approval of the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) has been obtained, a written request should immediately be sent to the Secretary of State containing the same information as in the report to the Designated Manager – see Section 2.4.
2.3 Court Application
The child’s social worker must liaise with Legal Services regarding the preparation of evidence to support the application including a Care Plan with the aims and objectives of the placement set out and details of the intended plan to return the child to open conditions.
The social worker should prepare the child for the Court hearing, by explaining the procedure and the possible outcomes, and by advising him or her of the right to be legally represented at the hearing.
The social worker should also book a secure escort for the hearing.
Where the placement is required before there is time to obtain a Secure Accommodation Order, the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) can authorise the placement for up to 72 hours. Such a placement will be regarded as an Emergency Placement and the Emergency Placements Procedure must be followed.
2.4 Where the Secretary Of State’s Approval is Required
The case should first be discussed with the LAC Division, Department for Education. Some initial information will be taken over the phone, such as the name and date of birth of the child concerned, and written documentation will be requested. This should be submitted without delay to, where possible, by e-mail or by fax.
This written documentation will include the following:
- A full written history/chronology of the child and confirmation whether the child is with the local authority or missing from care;
- A view of the likelihood that a court would find that the criteria for restriction of liberty are satisfied and an indication of when the local authority is intending to go to court to obtain a secure order;
- An explanation of why secure accommodation is the only appropriate method of dealing with the child and whether a bed in a secure children’s home has been identified;
- An indication of the alternatives to secure accommodation that have been considered and why these have been rejected;
- The aims and objectives of the secure placement;
- A copy of a contemporary Care Plan to cover the period of the secure placement which includes a prospective exit strategy from secure accommodation; and
- A written agreement - signed by the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) - to seek the Secretary of State’s approval.
The Department for Education will discuss this information with appropriate inspectors at OFSTED, who will make a recommendation as to whether the Secretary of State’s approval should be given.
The Department for Education will then consider and advise the local authority of the Secretary of State’s decision.
Local authorities should ensure that, in order to expedite early decisions, applications for the Secretary of State’s approval are made during office hours.
However, where in exceptional circumstances this is not possible, the local authority should telephone the Department for Education out of hours telephone number and ask for the Looked After Children Division Duty Officer
3. Placements Process - Planned Placements
3.1 Definition of Planned Placement
A Planned Placement in secure accommodation is the placement of a Looked After child following an assessment and planning process whereby, at the time of the placement, a Care Plan and Placement Information Record are in place and a Secure Accommodation Order has been made.
Where the placement is made with the authority of the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) but no Court Order, the placement is deemed to be an Emergency.
See Emergency Placements Procedure.
3.2 Placement Request
Where the child’s social worker considers that a child requires a secure placement, the procedure for obtaining the approval of the Placement Matters Meeting and the Designated Manager (External Placements) to the placement is the same as for all out of county residential placements and is set out in full in Placements in Residential Care Procedure.
3.3 Identification of Placement
The Team Manager (Placements) will contact appropriate providers to identify possible placements and liaise with the social worker about their suitability.
The Team Manager (Placements) should arrange for a copy of any brochure or written material that is available for the proposed placement to be forwarded to the social worker.
The Team Manager (Placements) will ascertain the services included in the basic cost, what would be regarded as extra cost and the conditions relating to the notice period, and liaise with the child’s social worker and relevant manager as necessary. If a placement appears suitable and a vacancy is available, and when it is a provider that does not come within PAN London or is not known and used regularly, the Team Manager (Placements) will undertake the following:
- Contact and discuss the provider with OFSTED;
- Request a copy of the provider’s registration certificate and the most recent inspection report;
- Obtain at least 3 verbal references from other local authorities who have placed children with the provider in the last 12 months;
- Liaise with social workers who have previously used the provider;
- Cross refer to the Pan London Contract.
As long as no concerns have been raised in relation to a proposed external placement, and where time permits, the social worker will arrange to visit the placement and then discuss its suitability with the Team Manager (Placements).
The social worker may then arrange visits to the proposed placement, with the child (if old enough) and parents (if appropriate).
When the placement has been agreed as suitable, the Team Manager (Placements) will negotiate the terms and conditions of the placement with the provider. Where the provider is a member of the Pan London Consortium, this will be in line with the standardised Pan London Contract.
All contracts will provide for a review after 3 months.
The provider’s admissions procedure will then be followed.
3.4 Placement Planning
Each secure unit will have its own placement planning procedure and therefore the social worker should liaise direct with the provider to establish this.
As part of the placement planning, the social worker in conjunction with the home staff will carry out a Risk Assessment in relation to the child.
Before the child is placed, the Placements Officer will liaise with the child’s social worker and the manager of the home to arrange a pre-placement planning meeting. If this is not possible prior to the placement, it must take place within 24 hours of the placement.
The child, parents and any other significant family members and relevant professionals should also be invited.
The purpose of the meeting is to share information about the child and the Care Plan, complete / update the necessary documentation about the child, plan the timing of the placement and ensure that a Placement Plan / Placement Information Record is drawn up.
Following the meeting, the child's social worker will complete and arrange for the circulation of the Placement Plan / Placement Information Record and Care Plan to the child, parents, the Independent Reviewing Officer and home manager.The social worker should ensure that any Children’s Guide or other information about the placement that is available for the child is obtained and given to him/her.
The social worker must also ensure that the child is provided with information on using the authority’s Complaints Procedure.
In all cases, the child should be accompanied to the placement by the social worker and helped to settle in.
3.5 Notification Of Placement
The social worker should send notification of the placement to all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process.
The social worker must also confirm the placement within 24 hours by e-mail to the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation).
In addition, the child’s social worker must provide the necessary information to the relevant administrative staff so the child’s records and Framework-i can be updated.
The social worker must also notify the Independent Chairs/Quality Assurance Unit. This notification may be given to an already allocated Independent Reviewing Officer or, where the child was not previously looked after, it will trigger the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Officer, who will contact the social worker to make arrangements for a Looked After Review to take place within a maximum of 3 weeks of the placement.
The notification to the Independent Chairs/Quality Assurance Unit should also trigger arrangements for a review meeting within 28 days- see Secure Accommodation (Criteria) Reviews Procedure.
The social worker will complete a Movement Form and ensure that the team administrator sends copies to the Designated Nurse for Looked After Children, local education authority and Children’s Social Care Services for the area where the child is placed. These notifications must be made in writing advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the home where the child is to be placed. The notifications should be before the start of the placement or within 5 working days.
The secure accommodation placement will ensure that the child is registered with a local GP and dentist.
4. Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements
4.1 Support and Monitoring of Placements
The child’s social worker must visit the child in the placement within one week of the placement and then at a minimum every six weeks; see procedures in Social Worker Visits Procedure.
Also see Placement Plan Reviews Procedure.
The Team Manager (Placements) will maintain regular contact with the social worker and the child’s Independent Reviewing Officer to monitor the appropriateness and effectiveness of the placement.
The Team Manager (Placements) will also maintain contact with external providers in relation to the children placed with them, taking up with them any concerns or funding issues.
Where the needs of the child in the placement will involve costs in addition to those approved, the placement must be referred to the Placement Matters Meeting and Designated Manager (External Placements) for authority for any such additional costs before they are incurred.
4.2 Ending of Placements
The child’s social worker should inform all those notified of the placement when a placement ends.
End